Semilla Nueva is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to sustainable agriculture and community development in Guatemala.
Mission
To help rural communities gain economic independence and rejuvenate their land through hands-on education and collaborative sustainable agriculture projects.
Semilla Nueva’s Approach
Semilla Nueva leverages the potential of the farmer to farmer movement to bring sustainable agriculture technology to Guatemala’s poorest farmers.We do this through three core components:
1. Technology: We currently work with farmers and international researchers to form technological packages that can help Guatemalan corn farmers: -greatly reduce the needs of chemical fertilizers and other inputs -Increase yields and farmer profits -reduce erosion, greenhouse gas emissions, and the other environmental impacts of traditional agriculture.
2. Organization and Empowerment: Farmers are the best innovators, teachers, and researchers. We work with farmers and other experienced NGO’s to make farmer to farmer development possible. This involves helping communities form sustainable agriculture support groups and training farmers how to try new technologies effectively and share them with their neighbors. Our goal is to foster a network of empowered communities that can empower others.
3. Networking and Leadership: Semilla Nueva can not work in isolation. We are constantly engaged with other development organizations to share our results and methods and to learn from their experience. We work to foster dialogue that can expand the potential and accessibility of farmer to farmer activism and sustainable agriculture technology.
Why are small farmers important?
- Over half of the Guatemalan poor receive their livelihoods from agriculture.
- Inadequate farming methods and a lack of extension services have left 79% of Guatemala’s land severely degraded; degraded soils are even more vulnerable to floods and droughts, causing environmental disasters to become even more damaging to Guatemala’s poor. (FAO)
- There is a lack of extension in Gautemala; the Guatemalan government employs thirteen extensionists for over a million corn farming families (Maga 2010).
- Corn is the most important crop in the Guatemalan diet, and the majority is produced by small and medium farmers. (MAGA 2004)
- Yields of Corn have been largely stagnant for the last 30 years, causing Guatemala to become a net importer of corn, deteriorating food security, and causing small farmers to lose millions of dollars of potential profit every year (MAGA 2010)
- Corn is grown on more land than any other crop in Guatemala, meaning sustainable agriculture technologies for corn have the largest potential to end environmental problems and create environmental benefits.(Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas, Guatemala)
- Initiatives in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina show that sustainable agriculture technologies can help farmers reverse land degradation while greatly increasing yields. (cons tillage infographic—see below)
